“How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. Now the red rim of the sun pushes itself over the cloud-bank.” – Arthur Conan Doyle.

I am not an early morning person. I am more of a 7am wake up, very slow moving to get ready, have my coffee in peace while checking the news kind of person. My ideal start to the day is 8am…so to get up early enough for a sunrise shoot has always been a challenge. It is probably why I joined a photography tour so as to force myself to get up early!

I still remember this particular morning very vividly. We left our hotel at around 7.10am, drove to Lake Wanaka, got our gear and started walking down to the lake from the carpark in the break of dawn. We arrived at the lake and there were already 6-7 photographers at the edge of the shore and had their cameras and tripods set up already! How dedicated and maybe fanatical are these people!

Then I found myself a spot and started setting up my tripod and camera too, while witnessing the first light of the day trying very hard to pierce through the fogs and clouds. It was dark but that tint of dark blue were slowly filing the sky and eventually this glorious sun peeked through the thick clouds, colouring the sky and clouds orange. It was a very beautiful and powerful sight. Mesmerized by this magnificent golden glow, I was wide awake. I was dumbfounded and lost my thoughts in the light but quickly realized that I should take photos of the sunrise as well, not just the Wanaka Tree. This is a panorama stitch of six photos. I was extremely glad I took the photos in time as the light did not linger for long – it quickly faded away and clouds returned.

It was a humbling experience to witness such a beautiful sunrise as a sign of a new day. One that I will always treasure. I hope that you can feel the warmth of the sunrise as much as I do from this photo and that would like it too 🙂

Photography Information:
Camera: NikonD800 with Tamron 24-70mm (f/11, 0.8s, 48mm, ISO 100). This image is a panorama stitch of six photos.
Post-processing: Adobe Lightroom Classic.

Photo was taken during a photography tour with Glenn Mckimmin. Glenn is a typical Australian bloke. He is a great teacher, very patient and incredibly helpful. He conducts tours in Australia, New Zealand, Norway, India, Sri Lanka and many other countries. I highly recommend his tours and do check out his website here for more information.

Have you been to New Zealand? I’d love to hear your experiences! Leave your comments below. If you haven’t, I hope this post would encourage you to explore this beautiful country.

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